Japan's gangs find themselves in a losing battle to mark territory
Carrying a business card bearing a gang crest is "effectively a license to collect cash,” a former gang member says. “Without the crest, it’s just a sheet of paper.”
The total membership of yakuza crime syndicates in Japan decreased for the 15th straight year to hit a record low in 2019, the National Police Agency said Thursday. The total, including associates, came to 28,200 as of the end of 2019, down 2,300 from a ...
Man held for allegedly shooting at home belonging to deputy leader of Japan's largest yakuza group
Police on Sunday arrested a man for allegedly firing several shots with a handgun at a home belonging to the second-in-command of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the nation's largest yakuza group, in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture. No injuries were reported in the shooting. The man — believed to be ...
What's in a name? For the yakuza, quite a lot
The Yamaguchi-gumi is one of the most feared crime syndicates in Japan and yet its name may become a relic of the past in 2020 if recent reports are to be believed. In terms of size, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi is already on the wane. The ...
The public safety commissions in six prefectures designated them Tuesday as “crime syndicates at war” in an effort to weaken them and stop their escalating battles.
Leader of Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi splinter group arrested over August shooting amid feud in syndicate
A leader of a splinter group of Japan's largest crime syndicate was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shooting a member of the parent group amid a gang feud in Kobe in August, police said. Hiroji Nakata is suspected of shooting a 51-year-old man affiliated with the ...
A senior member of the nation's largest organized crime syndicate was shot dead Wednesday in Hyogo Prefecture by a man armed with a submachine gun and a handgun amid a possible gang feud, police said. Keiichi Furukawa, 59, a high-ranking yakuza of the Yamaguchi-gumi group, ...
Man linked to Yamaguchi-gumi shot in Kobe in apparent yakuza feud
A man affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest crime syndicate, was shot Wednesday in Kobe, apparently in connection with a feud among factions of the group in the city and surrounding areas, police said. The man, believed to be around 50 years old, was seriously ...
Life as a gangster in Japan just isn't as fun as it used to be
A number of theories have been put forward on the reasons behind the 2015 split of the country's largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi. Some say the factions that left the organization and formed a group called the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi were egged on by the police, ...
Japan's crime syndicates are shooting themselves in the foot
Japan's organized crime syndicates appear to be embroiled in something of a power struggle. Yoshinori Oda, who heads a splinter group that left the Yamaguchi-gumi called the Ninkyo Yamaguchi-gumi, was attacked as he left his house in Kobe on Sept. 12. Oda's bodyguard, Yuhiro Kusumoto, ...
Gangsters prefer to do things by the book
Japan's gangsters esteem tradition and prefer to do things by the book. As a result, they appear to love manuals — they have manuals for committing certain crimes as well as guides on how to avoid punishment for carrying out those crimes. Lately, however, ...
Are crime syndicates in Japan sitting on a gold mine?
The Japanese underworld loves gold — it has been the analog bitcoin of crime syndicates in recent years. The origins of gold are difficult to trace, and the material is easy to convert into cash and store. Crime syndicates are increasingly smuggling it, stealing ...
